The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ignited a nationwide political firestorm by announcing the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and Union Territories, including key battlegrounds like Gujarat, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. The opposition coalition has vehemently condemned the exercise, labeling it a "vote theft scheme" orchestrated by the ruling dispensation, while the ECI’s decision to exclude Assam, which is scheduled for Assembly elections in 2026, has added a sharp political dimension to the controversy.
The
Special Intensive Revision is an exhaustive, ground-up process intended to
clean up voter lists by removing duplicate, migrated, deceased, and ineligible
voters. The second phase, set to begin on November 4, follows a highly
contentious pilot run in Bihar that the opposition alleges resulted in the
deletion of millions of genuine voters.
The Assam Exemption: A Political Hot Potato
The
most significant point of contention remains the exclusion of Assam from the
current SIR schedule, despite the state heading to polls in the spring of 2026.
Chief
Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar clarified that Assam was being
addressed separately due to its "separate provisions in India's
citizenship laws" and the near conclusion of the Supreme Court-monitored
National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.
However,
opposition leaders in the state immediately dismissed this reasoning as
politically motivated. Debabrata Saikia, Leader of Opposition in the Assam
Assembly (Congress), questioned the EC's rationale: “The NRC process is far
from being concluded. The Registrar General of India has not even notified it,
and the process for claims and objections for those excluded has not been
initiated. It is hard to understand their reasoning. The EC has proven itself
to be an agent of the ruling party.”
Nationally,
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari echoed the sentiment, asking pointedly, "Why no
SIR for Assam? This is a slap on the ruling dispensation, as no illegal
migrants have been detected despite their repeated claims, which were often
used to justify such an exercise.”
Opposition Unites Against SIR Process
Across
the remaining 12 states, the opposition has unified its stance, framing the SIR
as a direct threat to the right to vote guaranteed by Article 326 of the
Constitution (Universal Adult Franchise).
In
Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin called an emergency
meeting with allies, denouncing the revision as a "conspiracy by the ECI
to rob citizens of their rights and help the BJP." He stated that the
exercise, which allegedly targeted minorities, Scheduled Castes, and women in
the Bihar phase, would not be tolerated. "Tamil Nadu will fight against
any attempt to murder the foundation of democracy, and Tamil Nadu will
win," Stalin asserted.
In
Gujarat, where the SIR is also being implemented, State Congress President Amit
Chavda pledged to fight what he called the ECI’s compromised credibility.
"Questions have been raised about the independence of the EC. Congress
will not allow the deletion of even a single genuine voter under the pretext of
this process," Chavda stated.
The
Trinamool Congress (TMC) in poll-bound West Bengal was equally sharp. Party
spokesperson Kunal Ghosh warned that any attempt to delete eligible voters
"at the BJP’s behest will be met with the protest it deserves," while
senior TMC leader Derek O'Brien called the poll panel "extremely
compromised." Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also urged democratic
forces to unite against the move, calling it a "serious challenge to the
democratic process" and a potential "backdoor implementation of the
National Register of Citizens (NRC)."
With
the ECI firmly defending the SIR as a necessary exercise to ensure accurate
electoral rolls and the opposition alleging an attempt at mass
disenfranchisement ahead of a series of crucial elections, the coming months
are set to witness an unprecedented political battle over the sanctity of the
voter list. The final rolls are scheduled for publication on February 7, 2026.
- Abhijit
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